This application claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-22554,No. 2001-340898 filed in JPO on Jan. 31, 2001, Nov. 6, 2001, respectively, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nails as for use in building construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to conventional technology, the length of a nail has been indicated on a nail package, or a coloring has been applied to the head of the nail corresponding to each nail length. The length of a particular nail is determined by reference to a chart on the package identifying the color corresponding to each nail length. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 11-210727, a nail is described in which the head portion or the entire surface is painted with a color corresponding to the length of the nail. Also, it is proposed that a table for determining the length of nails by the use of a series of different coding colors is printed on a nail package. Moreover, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 7-27118, there is disclosed nails painted with the same color as that of the material into which the nails are driven, and in this case, it is disclosed that a contacting face between a nail head portion and an elastic resin layer of a nail is to be formed with raised or recessed contours so that a colored elastic resin layer of the head portion of the nail can be protected from being dislodged by the striking of the hammer.
If the nail length color code table is printed on the nail package, this has the disadvantage that after taking a nail out from the nail package to be put into a nail bag for carrying, its length can no longer be readily determined, and nails of incorrect length could be used. Moreover, for example, in residential building, a proper length nail to be used is specified by building codes. However, since there are many nails of approximately the same length having heads of similar appearance to one another, after a nail has been driven, the length of the nail used can not be checked by inspection of the completed construction.
In the case of nails with colored heads, their length can be confirmed after being driven, but a reference to a corresponding chart to confirm the nail length is necessary and the colored paint tends to come off after the nail head has been struck by a driving tool.
The object of the present invention is to provide a nail in which the nail length can be easily confirmed even after the nail has been driven.
According to the present invention, a nail with length indication is provided, in which the nail length is numerically or otherwise marked on the head of the nail.
Moreover, according to the present invention, the nail length is indicated with a numeral or other marking formed by either raised areas or recessed contours on the nail head.
In addition, the recessed areas of the head is colored so that the nails are also color coded as to length.
Moreover, the present invention may provide a nail having a checkered lattice pattern formed on the surface of the nail head and the numeral is formed within the checkered lattice pattern on the head.
The checkered lattice pattern is formed by raised ridges and comprises two groups of spaced straight-lines, of which several parallel straight-lines in each group are crossed with respect to the lines in the other group. The numeral is formed with a contour raised above the straight-lines of the checkered pattern formed on the head. At least the checkered lattice pattern has a coloring material applied of a particular color corresponding to the nail length.
The present invention also provides quantities of nails all of a particular length, in which each nail has a shank including a penetrating tip at one end and a head formed on the other end of the shank, and in which the length of each nail is numerically marked on the head of the nail, and nails of the same length and are colored with a particular color which is different for each nail quantity, in order to be distinguished from nails from other quantities as to length.
The whole surface of a shank and a head of a nail can be colored as with colored paint.
Since nail lengths are indicated on the head of nails, the length of the nails taken out from a nail package can be easily recognized without the use of a ruler or a separate chart. Also, the nail length can be confirmed at a glance, and it can be easily determined whether or not a nail of the proper length has been used after the nail has been driven.
Moreover, according to the present invention, since the nail length is indicated by a numeral formed by raised or lowered contouring of the nail head, the color coding is less likely to come off after striking with a hammer as the painted colors will be retained in recessed areas created by the raised or lowered contouring. Slipping of the hammer head can be prevented in the same manner as with conventional checkered lattice pattern.
In addition, the nail head contouring forming the numeral or other marking can be formed at the same time that the head of the nail is shaped by the nail making machine, so that the nail can be manufactured with a length indication without requiring an additional manufacturing step. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the nail length is indicated by the combination of the raised or lowered contouring on the head and the coloring of the recessed areas, a user can easily read the nail length and errors in selecting a particular nail length are minimized. In addition, since the coloring is protected in the recessed areas, it is protected from being struck and dislodged by the hammer blows when the nail is driven.